Sycamore Hall Thoroughbreds' homebred Circling the Drain, a West Coast gelding nominated to the Triple Crown, is set to make his second start of the year during a special Presidents Day holiday program Monday at Laurel Park.
Bred in Maryland and trained by Brittany Russell, Circling the Drain drew Post 5 under Jevian Toledo and is the 7-5 program favorite in Race 4, an entry-level optional claiming allowance for 3-year-olds going around two turns at about 1 1/16 miles on the main track.
Circling the Drain already owns a win at the distance over his home track of Laurel, a front-running seven-length waiver maiden claiming score Dec. 9 in his second career start. Out of the Cozzene mare Who's Cozy, he has run second in his other two races, both behind Feeling Woozy, who finished third behind stakes winners Coffeewithchris and Prince of Jericho, the latter also trained by Russell, in Saturday's Miracle Wood.
“We've always liked Circling the Drain,” Russell said. “I always kind of thought he was turfy, but he also does nothing wrong on the dirt. He works well on the dirt and everything. He's a big horse that I think needs to race. I'd like to think with racing that he continues to improve.”
Circling the Drain debuted last November at Laurel, racing near the front while three wide to finish second, nearly six lengths ahead of third-place finisher and next out winner General Nooz in a seven-furlong maiden special weight.
Following his graduation, Circling the Drain encountered some early trouble in his first try against winners, getting bumped at the start and trailing the field early before making a five-wide move to get into contention and wind up second going one mile. Once again, he was well ahead of the horse in third, Byk, who also returns Monday from outermost Post 6.
Circling the Drain and Prince of Jericho were both among the 369 3-year-olds made eligible for the Triple Crown by the early Jan. 28 deadline at a cost of $600. He has been favored in each of his last two starts and figures to be well-backed again Monday.
Russell nominated Circling the Drain to the one-mile Miracle Wood, Laurel's second stop in its series of stakes for 3-year-olds on the road to the 148th Preakness Stakes (G1) May 20 at Pimlico Race Course, but opted instead for the allowance. The series continues March 18 with the $100,000 Private Terms going about 1 1/16 miles and $125,000 Federico Tesio April 15. The 1 1/8-mile Tesio is a 'Win and In' qualifier for Triple Crown-nominated horses to the Preakness.
“It's early in his 3-year-old year, so if he decides to step up and really start doing things right, one can dream, right?” Russell said. “He is a big, lovely horse. He takes to the training. In three starts he's been beat twice by the same horse, and I know that they like Feeling Woozy.
“He's done nothing wrong,” she added. “The ownership group – I think we all think the same way. We want to win the allowance. We want to allow him to kind of drag us into something bigger hopefully. We're going to try to win the allowance with him and hopefully we can think bigger next time.”
The post ‘One Can Dream, Right?’: Russell Hopes Triple Crown Nominee Circling The Drain Ready For Next Step At Laurel appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.
